The Slavic Literature Pod

Shownotes:This week, Matt and Cameron fiddle while Moscow burns. They finish Book 3 of War and Peace by finally engaging with the direct interaction of war and society. Unfortunately for the population of Moscow, that comes as their city burns. Why that is? Well - Tolstoy has some opinions. (Unsurprisingly, those opinions begin with the fact that Moscow is mostly built of wood, which may have something to do with the fire). Grab your least flammable cocktail and tune in! Major themes: Hanging’ With the Enemy, The Force of History, Burning Moscow06:55 - The Achilles Paradox30:40 - Vive L’Espanol 31:51 - Historically, I mean.34:43 - I, personally, stand behind “The Long 20th Century.” But that’s only because the guy who wrote it was a professor of mine, and once spent an entire class lecturing on how a certain shade of green showed a) where Portuguese immigrants have gone and b) the implications of finding that green in places like Hawaii (sugar farming and resultant imperialist takeover, in that case). 41:29 - I think it’s actually usually translated as “money changers” instead of “money lenders.” 57:54 - Unfortunately for Matt, I get to edit these episodes and I have all the power. The music used in this episode was “soviet march,” by Toasted Tomatoes. You can find more of their work on Bandcamp and Youtube. Buy this book with our affiliate links on ⁠Bookshop⁠ or ⁠Amazon⁠!Our links: Website | ⁠Discord⁠ Socials: ⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠Twitter⁠ | ⁠FacebookAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Show Notes:This week, Matt and Cameron continue Part 2, Book 3 of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace. Get your sabers ready, we’re about to head into one of the defining battles of 1812. Well - at least as Tolstoy would have you believe. And - for once - Marya appears in a scene without 2-3 pages of the narrator ragging on her looks. Who would have thought we’d come this far? Get your victory drink of choice ready, and tune in!Major themes: Beating Peasants, War Crimes, Losing Your Way to Victory22:35 - My bad, I was thinking of the Church of Christ, Scientist, not Jehovah’s Witnesses. I have two aunts who are Jehovah’s Witnesses, you’d think I’d know that haha.39:12 - The conditions of Napoleon’s exile. 40:17 -The False Dmitry I 54:48 - I’m pretty sure, but not 100% confident that this is what Matt is talking about. Buy this book with our affiliate links on ⁠Bookshop⁠ or ⁠Amazon⁠!Our links: ⁠All links⁠ | ⁠PATREON⁠ | ⁠Merch⁠ | ⁠Watch on YouTube⁠ | ⁠Discord⁠Socials: ⁠TikTok⁠ | ⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠Twitter⁠ | ⁠FacebookBuy this book with our affiliate links on ⁠Bookshop⁠ or ⁠Amazon⁠!Our links: Website | ⁠Discord⁠ Socials: ⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠Twitter⁠ | ⁠FacebookAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Show Notes:This week, Matt and Cameron continue their slog through Book 3 of War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, covering part 1. Get ready for more teen marriage plots, a little elucidation on Tolstoy’s thoughts on doctors, and the funniest section for Pierre so far. And trust us - that last bit jumped over a high bar. Grab your copies of the Book of Revelations and tune in!Major themes: More Teen Marriage Plots, Too Hot to be Godly, Anti Doctor Content12:21 - As Eric Blaire, a.k.a. George Orwell, explored in “Shooting an Elephant.” Also a lot to explore about colonialism and perspectives on the racialized Other there, but that’s a different conversation.40:32 - Here’s an Atlantic article about it. Happened around 20-ish years earlier.46:52 - The exact quote is: “Men killed, and died, because they were embarrassed not to. It was what had brought them to the war in the first place, nothing positive, no dreams of glory or honor, just to avoid the blush of dishonor. They died so as not to die of embarrassment.”51:27 - Here’s a bit more information about that event. 52:54 - Revelations 13:18, KJV: “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.” In War & Peace “the Beast” is understood to be the anti-Christ. I, personally, have my doubts in that interpretation of the text - anti-Christs appear in several places, but the Beast only appears here; furthermore, the beast is never referred to as an “anti-Christ.” If I’m recalling correctly - the notion of the anti-Christ is never referred to in the Book of Revelations at all. I think it’s a concept from The Book of John. But also I’m just a person who read the Bible growing up, I’m not a scholar or anything.The music used in this episode was “soviet march,” by Toasted Tomatoes. You can find more of their work on Bandcamp and Youtube.Buy this book with our affiliate links on ⁠Bookshop⁠ or ⁠Amazon⁠!Our links: Website | ⁠Discord⁠ Socials: ⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠Twitter⁠ | ⁠FacebookAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Show Notes:This week, Matt and Cameron dive into Parts 4 and 5 in Book 2 of War and Peace. If you read Anna Karenina and thought, I like these hunting scenes 500 pages in but I wish they were more brutal and had more undertones about the aristocracy - don’t worry, we’ve got you covered here. And Natasha’s upcoming marriage comes under pressure. Grab your finest elopement garments and strap in, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.Major themes: "Uncles," Kissin’ Cousins, Elopement but it’s Kidnapping.Buy this book with our affiliate links on ⁠Bookshop⁠ or ⁠Amazon⁠!Our links: Website | ⁠Discord⁠ Socials: ⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠Twitter⁠ | ⁠FacebookAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Show Notes:This week, Matt and Cameron dive into Book 2, part 3 of War and Peace to find the answer to an important question: is life over once you turn 31? And it’s time to turn a little religious and a little conspiratorial with Princess Marya and Count Pierre. Nothing better than covering two years of life in around 100 pages. Grab your finest soiree attire, some champagne, and tune in!Major themes: Hottie or Nottie, Gnarled Trees, Illuminist Freemasonry05:51 - Hollywood Access is, of course, legally distinct from Access Hollywood. Please don’t fire me, NBC.08:10 - He just like me frThe music used in this episode was “soviet march,” by Toasted Tomatoes. You can find more of their work on Bandcamp and Youtube.Buy this book with our affiliate links on ⁠Bookshop⁠ or ⁠Amazon⁠!Our links: Website | ⁠Discord⁠ Socials: ⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠Twitter⁠ | ⁠FacebookAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Show Notes:This week, Matt and Cameron dive into Book 2 of War and Peace and cover parts 1 & 2. In this part, we get the honor (you might say) of getting to compare child marriage plots, duels, and bullying of my! Grab your kvass of choice and get ready to get into War and Peace.Major themes: Child marriage, duels, battle plans21:11 - National Treasure, truly the greatest American contribution to the arts.36:03 - Ritualized Violence Russian Style: The Duel in Russian Culture and Literature by Irina ReyfmanThe music used in this episode was “soviet march,” by Toasted Tomatoes. You can find more of their work on Bandcamp and Youtube.Buy this book with our affiliate links on ⁠Bookshop⁠ or ⁠Amazon⁠!Our links: Website | ⁠Discord⁠ Socials: ⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠Twitter⁠ | ⁠FacebookAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Show Notes: This week, Matt and Cameron finish up the first section of War and Peace by covering Book 1, Part 3. They’ll be delving more into the Kuragin family and their shared habits (and even some shared facial expressions), and keeping up with the military boys as they meet their idols…and have very different reactions than expected. Grab your reluctant wedding champagne and tune in! Major themes: The Pettiness of Great Men, Bad Fathers, Vacant Expressions 02:53 - Ohio actually has produced seven presidents. And, yes, I did learn this from a Phil Ochs song. I’m not apologetic. He may not be from Ohio, but he’s its best export. The music used in this episode was “soviet march,” by Toasted Tomatoes. You can find more of their work on Bandcamp and Youtube. Buy this book with our affiliate links on ⁠Bookshop⁠ or ⁠Amazon⁠!Our links: Website | ⁠Discord⁠ Socials: ⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠Twitter⁠ | ⁠FacebookAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Show Notes:This week, Matt and Cameron turn to the war part of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace in Part II of Book 1. Grab your field rations and greatcoats as we follow Andrei, Nikolai, and company into battle with the French. And although this seems to be the opposite…perhaps the battles parallel the “peace” of Moscow society more than it first appears. You’ll have to tune in to find out.Interested in the video version of this podcast? Find it ⁠here⁠.Major themes: Strawberry-Flavored Koumiss, Luck, Four Lads and a Cannon08:18 - *The Great Bear Incident of 1804, it should be.09:02 - Imperial Russian Hussars28:13 - Minor point of order - I mixed up Ippolit and Anatole Kuragin. Ippolit is an acquaintance of Bilibin, the Russian Ambassador we met earlier; while Anatole is the Kuragin involved in the bear incident.The music used in this episode was “soviet march,” by Toasted Tomatoes. You can find more of their work on Bandcamp and Youtube.Buy this book with our affiliate links on ⁠Bookshop⁠ or ⁠Amazon⁠!Our links: Website | ⁠Discord⁠ Socials: ⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠Twitter⁠ | ⁠FacebookAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Show Notes:This week, Matt and Cameron kick off their longest series ever: Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace. This episode they’ll be reading Part 1 of Book 1 (don’t worry there are only four books and two epilogues) and get into the nitty gritty of peace. But at risk of engaging with too many clichés, the maneuvers of peace (and mostly the soiree) can be just as complex as war. Grab your koumiss and tune in!Interested in the video version of this podcast? Find it ⁠here⁠.Major themes: Big Heineken, Dangerous Neighborhoods, Felines00:56 - *Cue Curb Your Enthusiasm theme music*04:19 - Although Spotify does offer video podcasting, we unfortunately aren’t able to offer it on that platform! You can check out our Youtube channel if you would like to see the video versions of our podcasts.10:47 - Big L on my part. Elder Bolkonsky is Nikolai Bolkonsky, while the younger is Andrei Bolkonsky. That being said, Andrei’s son will be named Nikolai in a later part so the joke stands if you shift it a generation.The music used in this episode was “soviet march,” by Toasted Tomatoes. You can find more of their work on Bandcamp and Youtube.Buy this book with our affiliate links on ⁠Bookshop⁠ or ⁠Amazon⁠!Our links: Website | ⁠Discord⁠ Socials: ⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠Twitter⁠ | ⁠FacebookAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Show Notes:This week, Matt and Cameron sit down with author Bob Blaisdell to talk about his new book Chekov Becomes Chekov: The Emergence of a Literary Genius. Bob was a wonderful person to chat with and learn from - and we hope you all take as much away from the conversation as we did.Bob Blaisdell is Professor of English at the City University of New York’s Kingsborough Community College and also the author of Creating Anna Karenina. He is a reviewer for the the Los Angeles Review of Books, Russian Life magazine, and Tolstoy Studies Journal, and the editor of more than three dozen Dover literature and poetry collections, including a collection of Chekhov's love stories, and the forthcoming Conversations with Karl Ove Knausgaard (University Press of Mississippi).Major themes: Deadlines, Fake Marriages, and Watermelons12:01 - “Amateurs wait for inspiration. Professionals just get up and go to work.” from Stephen King’s On Writing12:10 - Referring to On Writing: A Memoir of the CraftThe music used in this episode was “soviet march,” by Toasted Tomatoes. You can find more of their work on Bandcamp and Youtube.Buy this book with our affiliate links on ⁠Bookshop⁠ or ⁠Amazon⁠!Our links: Website | ⁠Discord⁠ Socials: ⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠Twitter⁠ | ⁠FacebookAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands